Written Answers Thursday 20 January 2005

Scottish Executive

Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc. (Scotland) Act 2000

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will respond to the unanticipated use of the reallotment provisions within the Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc. (Scotland) Act 2000 regarding the transfer of feudal superiority over certain domestic properties.

Hugh Henry: The Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc. (Scotland) Act made provision for former superiors to preserve certain rights. The Scottish Executive is not aware that these are being used in a way which was not anticipated.

Bank Holidays

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the public holiday (a) days and (b) dates (i) were in 2004 and (ii) will be in 2005.

Hugh Henry: There is no legal or statutory definition of public holiday in the United Kingdom.

Bank Holidays

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the local holiday (a) days and (b) dates (i) were in 2004 and (ii) will be in 2005.

Hugh Henry: This information is not held by the Scottish Executive. Local holidays are determined by individual councils who are able to advise on the dates of local holidays in their areas. Dates are set which reflect local traditions and consultation with local business interests, and may vary between local authority areas.

Child Abuse

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the outcome was of the First Minister’s study into the Irish model of addressing institutional child abuse.

Peter Peacock: Ministers’ study into the Irish model of addressing institutional child abuse considered the on-going developments in Ireland but decided not to follow that model. I set out the Executive’s thinking about institutional child abuse to the Public Petitions Committee on 29 September 2004 and to Parliament on 1 December 2004.

Child Poverty

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding was allocated to addressing child poverty in (a) 1999-2000, (b) 2000-01, (c) 2001-02, (d) 2002-03 and (e) 2003-04 and what funding will be allocated for this purpose in each of the next two financial years.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive, along with the UK Government is committed to eradicating child poverty within a generation. The Executive’s Closing the Opportunity Gap approach to tackling poverty works both directly and indirectly across all its departments, and within numerous spending streams. Universal services such as health, education and child care benefit all children, with an emphasis on meeting the needs of the most vulnerable. Expenditure targeted on areas of deprivation such as the Community Regeneration Fund also has an impact on children. A number of funding streams are specifically directed at disadvantaged children such as Sure Start funding. The range of spending that has an impact on children in poverty means it is not possible to give a total figure for previous or future years.

Child Poverty

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish figures on progress made in respect of its targets on child poverty for (a) 1999-2000, (b) 2000-01, (c) 2001-02, (d) 2002-03 and (e) 2003-04, broken down by quarter and local authority area.

Malcolm Chisholm: The following table presents the number and proportion of children living in low income households in Scotland from 1996-97 to 2002-03. Figures are produced annually and estimates for 2003-04 are not yet available. Estimates are available at Scotland level only, not by local authority area.

  Proportion and Number of Children in Low Income Households, Below 60% of GB Median Income After Housing Costs, Scotland

  

 
Absolute
Relative


Before Housing Costs
After Housing Costs
Before Housing Costs
After Housing Costs


%
Numbers
%
Numbers
%
Numbers
%
Numbers


Thousands


1996-97
30
330
34
380
30
330
34
380


1997-98
27
300
30
330
29
310
31
340


1998-99
26
290
29
320
27
300
31
340


1999-2000
20
220
24
260
24
260
28
310


2000-01
18
190
21
230
25
260
30
320


2001-02
14
140
16
170
25
260
30
320


2002-03
12
130
16
170
23
240
27
280



  The key low income results, above, are for 60% of both the relative and absolute GB median thresholds. Estimates on the full range of income thresholds and explanation of how these estimates are calculated are published in Households Below Average Income, 1994-95 – 2002-03, copies of which are available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 32212).

  The relative low income measure compares against the median of the same year. The absolute measure compares against the median in the baseline year of 1996-97, uprated to remove the effects of inflation. The figures are estimates based on a sample survey and are therefore subject to sampling variation. As such, small percentage changes are not significant when considered on a year-on-year basis; identification of trends should be based on several years of data.

Crime

Mr Alasdair Morrison (Western Isles) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to make offenders compensate victims of crime.

Cathy Jamieson: As outlined in the Criminal Justice Plan, we will explore the potential for imposing a financial surcharge on all those convicted of an offence and using the sums raised to help the victims of crime. We will also examine ways in which we can encourage the greater use by the courts of compensation orders to include circumstances where victims have suffered mental distress as well as physical loss or injury.

Drug Misuse

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether funding for drug treatment and rehabilitation services is being used effectively.

Hugh Henry: The Scottish Executive works closely with local Drug Action Teams to ensure the most effective use of resources for drug treatment and rehabilitation services. Additional funding announced in October 2004 will be allocated according to proposals submitted from each Drug Action Team on the basis of projected improvements in numbers into treatment, waiting times and the range of services available locally.

Drug Misuse

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how (a) mental health problems, (b) physical health problems, (c) homelessness, (d) unemployment and (e) social and financial problems are addressed, where appropriate, during treatment and rehabilitation interventions for drug misuse.

Hugh Henry: Decisions on treatment interventions and options for addressing other needs are for individual patients and their medical and social care professionals.

  The evidence shows that the key to addressing the multiple problems experienced by many drug misusers is to plan and deliver services in an integrated way. The Executive’s Effective Interventions Unit has produced evidence based guidance on integrated care for drug users. Drug Action Teams, in collaboration with partner agencies, are developing models of integrated care relevant and appropriate to their local needs and circumstances.

Drug Misuse

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to address the growth in cocaine and crack use.

Hugh Henry: Drug Action Teams and their local partners assess the level of need in their areas and have to ensure that the treatment needs of their local drug using population are met. Guidance on the development of service provision for psychostimulant users, including cocaine and crack cocaine was issued in October 2002 by the Executive’s Effective Interventions Unit, based on the work of the Scottish Advisory Committee on Drugs Misuse.

  Training modules on dealing with those with psychostimulant problems have been available from Scottish Training on Drugs and Alcohol (STRADA) since November 2002.

  A pilot service for cocaine and crack cocaine users in the Aberdeen area is currently being evaluated.

Drug Misuse

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to improve the quality and consistency of treatment intervention for drug addiction.

Hugh Henry: The Scottish Executive is implementing the full range of actions to improve service quality and consistency outlined in the Review of Drug Treatment and Rehabilitation Services Summary, published in October 2004.

  In the last four years the Executive’s Effective Interventions Unit has produced and widely disseminated to Drug Action Teams, agencies and service providers a body of evidence about effective practice in addressing the problems arising from drug misuse. The unit is now focusing on promoting and supporting the implementation of that evidence at local level.

Education

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take to promote learning and education among the most deprived communities.

Peter Peacock: All children should achieve to their full potential at school and we have a wide ranging programme in Ambitious, Excellent, Schools to help them do so.

Energy

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what projections it has made regarding the increase in energy consumption by (a) 2010, (b) 2020 and (c) 2030.

Allan Wilson: The Executive has commissioned a research study which is currently developing projections of future energy consumption in Scotland. The report will be published later this year.

Environment

Eleanor Scott (Highlands and Islands) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to identify and fill any gaps in the current understanding of the role of Scottish peatlands in sequestering carbon implicated in climate change.

Ross Finnie: There are many uncertainties associated with behaviour of carbon in Scotland’s high organic soils. In light of this, the Executive has commissioned, jointly with the National Assembly for Wales, research based on modelling the behaviour of carbon and nitrogen in organic soils which will run until 2006.

  In addition, climate change is a cross-cutting theme in the strategic research strategy for the Environment and Rural Affairs Department. The current five year Programme of research includes work which will seek to improve our understanding of how we might minimise carbon loss from - and promote carbon sequestration in - Scottish soils, including peatlands.

Environment

Shiona Baird (North East Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publicise progress made on its work on environmental justice.

Ross Finnie: The Executive intends to publish information on the progress of its work on environmental justice by the summer.

Europe

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much European Social Fund money has been clawed back from (a) colleges and (b) other organisations in each year since 1999.

Allan Wilson: The amount of European Social Fund money clawed back from colleges and others each year in the programme which started in 2000 is shown in the following table:

  

Year
Colleges (£)
Others (£)
Total (£)


2004-05
116,185
496,457
612,642


2003-04
119,956
327,622
447,578


2002-03
310,841
317,328
628,169


2001-02
22,996
34,356
57,352


2000-01
0
0
0


 
5,699,78
1,175,763
1,745,741

Europe

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much European Social Fund funding has not been utilised in each year since 1999.

Allan Wilson: In the European Social Fund Programme which started in the year 2000 the spending targets have been met each year and all funds have been utilised.

Finance

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many households there were without any bank or building society accounts in rural areas in each of the last five years, broken down by local authority area.

Malcolm Chisholm: Households without bank or building society accounts in rural areas are as shown in the following table. Information is available from the Scottish Household Survey Annual Report for the periods 1999-2000 and 2001-02. The data set for 2003-04 should be available late summer/early autumn this year.

  Question: Whether Respondent or Partner has a Bank or Building Society Account

  

Rural Local Authorities as % 
1999-2000 Yes
2001-02 Yes
1999-2000
No
2001-02 No
1999-2000
Refused to Answer
2001-02 Refused to Answer


Aberdeenshire
93
94
4
3
3
3


Angus
92
91
7
5
1
4


Argyll and Bute
94
90
4
7
2
2


Dumfries and Galloway
90
93
9
6
1
1


East Ayrshire
83
88
15
11
2
1


Eilean Siar
84
90
14
9
2
1


Highland
92
94
7
5
1
2


Moray
89
92
6
4
5
4


Orkney
98
97
2
3
-
1


Perth and Kinross
97
93
2
4
1
3


Scottish Borders
94
96
6
3
0
1


Shetland
98
98
2
2
-
-


South Ayrshire
87
90
12
7
1
3


Stirling
92
92
7
5
2
2

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers the use of 80mm mesh in the southern North Sea by the flatfish fishery to be damaging to cod stocks due to the level of by-catches of cod juveniles and, if so, whether it raised these concerns at the recent Agriculture and Fisheries Council in Brussels and what the outcome was of any discussions on the matter.

Ross Finnie: All catches of cod have the potential to damage the stock, including the southern North Sea small mesh fisheries.

  The Executive routinely ensures that the UK delegation raises our concerns over this fishery in all appropriate EU fora, including December Agriculture and Fisheries council.

  The outcomes of last year’s discussions on the small meshed fisheries in the southern North Sea, included a reduction of the plaice Total Allowable Catches and a reduced allocation of permitted days at sea and a statement by the Council inviting the Commission to present proposals, to the Council and to the European Parliament, concerning future long-term management plans for North Sea sole and North Sea plaice as soon as possible in 2005.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any plans to use the opportunity of the United Kingdom's Presidency of the European Union in 2005 to change the timescale and nature of the decision-making process in respect of the annual fisheries negotiations which currently take place in late December.

Ross Finnie: At present, there are no such plans.

Further and Higher Education

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider extending the Fresh Talent Initiative to include non-EU students who are in Scotland on placements or internships as part of their studies.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Fresh Talent Initiative aims to attract bright, talented individuals to come and live, work and study in Scotland. Non-EU students graduating from a Scottish institution with a HND, degree, Masters or PhD will soon be able to stay on in Scotland for up to two years without requiring a work permit. There are no plans to extend to this to students who are here for a very limited period of time.

  However, there are a number of other elements of the initiative which will benefit students who come here for a short time, for example on placements or internships, as well as those completing a degree or other course. This will include the Challenge Fund announced last week which will fund activities to support and mentor international students during their time in Scotland.

Further and Higher Education

Colin Fox (Lothians) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many students over 16 are in (a) full-time and (b) part-time further and higher education.

Mr Jim Wallace: The following tables give the numbers of students or enrolments aged over 16 in further and higher education for the year 2002-03. This is the most recent year for which data are available at present.

  (a) Full-Time Study

  Full-Time Students Aged Over 16 at Scottish Higher Education Institutions1 2002-03

  

Level of study
Number


Higher Education
144,982


Further Education
211



  Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency.

  Note: 1. Does not include Open University students in Scotland.

  Full-Time Enrolments2 Aged Over 16 at Scottish Further Education (FE) Colleges 2002-03

  

Level of study 
Number 


Higher Education 
26,730 


Further Education 
34,199 



  Source: Scottish Further Education Funding Council (SFEFC).

  Note: 2. SFEFC data are for enrolments at FE Colleges. As individuals may enrol on more than one course in an academic year, the number of enrolments is higher than the number of students. Data provided are for vocational enrolments only.

  (b) Part-Time Study

  Part-Time Students Aged Over 16 at Scottish Higher Education Institutions1 2002-03

  

Level of study 
Number 


Higher Education 
62,022


Further Education 
234



  Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency.

  Note: 1. Does not include Open University students in Scotland.

  Part-Time Enrolments2 Aged Over 16 at Scottish Further Education Colleges 2002-03

  

Level of study 
Number 


Higher Education 
32,343


Further Education 
283,602



  Source: Scottish Further Education Funding Council.

  Note: 2. SFEFC data are for enrolments at FE Colleges. As individuals may enrol on more than one course in an academic year, the number of enrolments is higher than the number of students. Data provided are for vocational enrolments only.

Further and Higher Education

Colin Fox (Lothians) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on how many students in full-time and part-time further and higher education use the HC1 form to apply for help with the cost of prescription charges, dental charges and charges for eye tests and spectacles.

Mr Andy Kerr: During 2003-04, 7,407 full-time students applied for and received help under the NHS Low Income Scheme using the HC1 form. Part-time students and students in higher education are classified with the Prescription Pricing Authority under the occupation they hold.

Health

Karen Whitefield (Airdrie and Shotts) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in providing free dental and eye checks for all.

Rhona Brankin: The Partnership Commitment is to provide free eye and dental checks for all before 2007. We will legislate for the implementation in the Smoking, Health and Social Care (Scotland) Bill which has recently been introduced in Parliament. Discussions on detailed implementation of the Commitment are on-going with the dental and optical professions respectively.

Health

Susan Deacon (Edinburgh East and Musselburgh) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it is improving the health of children.

Rhona Brankin: The Scottish Executive is committed to giving every child the best possible start in life. Improving child health has benefits which last into adulthood, and our health improvement challenge focuses on the early years. We have already achieved a lot.

  This includes:

  Developing an Integrated Early Years Strategy to ensure all services for young children work together effectively;

  Supporting breastfeeding;

  Examining how child health can be improved by providing parents in deprived areas of Glasgow with extra support and access to enhanced community-based resources, through the Starting Well national health demonstration project;

  Improving diet and raising physical activity levels for schoolchildren, through healthier school meals and the recruitment of over 600 Active School Coordinators;

  Making children and young people a priority in the National Programme for Improving Mental Health and Well-being, and

  Ensuring all children and young people who need it have an integrated package of health, care and education support, as part of our Closing the Opportunity Gap work.

Homelessness

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were homeless in rural areas in each of the last five years, broken down by local authority area.

Malcolm Chisholm: The table shows the number of people assessed as homeless by the relevant local authority for the last five years for those fourteen local authorities which are defined as rural.

  Number of People Assessed as Homeless 1999-2000 to 2003-04

  

 
1999-2000
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04


Aberdeenshire
1,500
1,400
1,200
1,318
1,264


Angus
900
700
800
1,128
1,304


Argyll and Bute
500
400
600
791
798


Dumfries and Galloway
1,400
1,200
1,300
1,595
1,536


East Ayrshire
700
700
700
1,094
1,194


Highland
1,400
1,100
1,500
1,952
2,697


Orkney
200
100
200
141
124


Perth and Kinross
1,200
1,100
1,000
1,528
1,767


Scottish Borders
700
800
1,000
768
1,184


Shetland
100
200
200
193
120


South Ayrshire
900
900
900
842
856


Stirling
1,000
800
800
860
748



  The numbers given in the table show the number of people assessed as homeless by local authorities. The annual statistics show the number of households assessed as homeless and there is often more than one person per household.

  The definition of a rural local authority used here is: "A local council which has a population density of less than 100 persons per kilometre, all of whose area is regarded as rural except for settlements with a population of more than 10,000". This definition was defined by the Scottish Household Survey and is used by the Scottish Rural Partnership Fund.

  Figures are not available at a level lower than local authority level.

  Figures prior to 2002-03 are estimated and rounded up to the nearest 100.

Housing

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many affordable homes have been built in each rural local authority area in each of the last seven years.

Malcolm Chisholm: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:

  The following table gives details of the total number of new and improved affordable housing units approved for construction by Communities Scotland in rural Local Authorities (defined as rural using the Randall definition) in each of the last seven years.

  

Unitary Authority
1997-98
1998-99
1999-2000
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04


Aberdeenshire
142
219
206
206
193
309
221


Angus
70
186
123
115
108
93
98


Argyll and Bute
56
123
131
76
70
79
89


Dumfries and Galloway
81
61
125
162
96
98
154


East Ayrshire
50
20
63
72
36
0
40


Highland
145
176
161
294
182
246
268


Moray
61
22
56
35
10
4
92


Orkney Islands
52
8
73
52
75
48
72


Perth and Kinross
211
180
334
103
148
182
152


Shetland Islands
49
21
38
7
40
7
38


South Ayrshire
36
56
81
146
95
80
60


Stirling
73
86
115
107
59
35
114


The Scottish Borders
81
104
109
110
71
63
64


Western Isles
3
28
16
24
40
2
60

Housing

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many households there are in rural areas in housing of below tolerable standard, broken down by local authority (LA) area.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish House Condition Survey, which is the only consistent national source of information on houses below tolerable standard, estimates that there were 20,000 households living in houses below the standard in 2002. Five thousand of these households were in rural areas. Because of the small number of houses identified in the survey as below the tolerable standard the survey cannot provide estimates for individual councils.

  Councils provide the Executive with annual estimates of the number of below tolerable standard dwellings in the council area. Research conducted on behalf of the Executive into the basis for local and national estimates – Research into the basis for local and national estimates of the number of BTS houses in Scotland by DTZ Pieda Consulting in association with Dr J I Ansell - concluded that there were significant variations between councils in the way in which they interpret the standard when compiling their estimates, and that there are also weaknesses in the estimates stemming from the use of unsatisfactory baseline data and imperfect methods used to update estimates. This report has been published by Scottish Executive Central Research Unit in 2000 and is available on the Scottish Executive website (http://www.scotland.gov.uk/cru/resfinds/drf90-00.asp).

  The table gives estimates of total number of occupied dwellings below tolerable standard for local authorities classed as being rural.

  Occupied Dwellings Below Tolerable Standard 2003-04:

  

Local Authority area
Occupied BTS Dwellings


Scotland (Rural)
20,514


Aberdeenshire
599


Angus
600


Argyll and Bute
5,958


Dumfries and Galloway
316


East Ayrshire
278


Eilean Siar1
2,019


Highland
4,139


Moray
347


Orkney
424


Perth and Kinross
1,544


Scottish Borders, The
3,020


Shetland1
371


South Ayrshire
462


Stirling
437



  Note: 1. Estimated using 2003 data due to outstanding returns.

  The definition of a rural LA used here is: "A local council which has a population density of less than 100 persons per kilometre, all of whose area is regarded as rural except for settlements with a population of more than 10,000". This definition was defined by the Scottish Household Survey and is used by the Scottish Rural Partnership Fund.

  Figures are not available at a level lower than local authority level.

Housing

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has for increasing the percentage of homes that are barrier-free, broken down by local authority area.

Malcolm Chisholm: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:

  Through the Partnership Agreement, ministers have given a commitment to ensure that more houses are barrier free.

  In 2003-04, 96% of the new build houses approved for Housing Association Grant funding through Communities Scotland complied with Housing for Varying Needs standards. In addition, where the Executive has a role to play in private sector housing developments, 99.4% of all new build housing funded was barrier free. In all other properties, private developers have to address the implications of barrier free building required by the current Building Standards (Scotland) Regulations.

Justice

Mark Ballard (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average time is for a case which has been referred to the courts by the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission to come before the courts.

Cathy Jamieson: The current average time from the date of referral by the commission to the date of a hearing is 14 weeks.

Justice

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many reports of offences under section 52 of the Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995 have been made to procurators fiscal in each year since 1999, broken down by sheriff court area.

Colin Boyd QC: The following table provides the number of charges reported to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service for the financial years 2002-03 and 2003-04, broken down by Sheriff Court area.

  

Office
FY 2002-03
FY 2003-04


Aberdeen
459
470


Airdrie
400
528


Alloa
231
438


Arbroath
262
325


Ayr
516
780


Banff
85
97


Campbeltown
22
74


Cupar
288
269


Dumbarton
380
457


Dumfries
321
295


Dingwall
170
105


Dundee
520
757


Dornoch
34
32


Dunfermline
673
652


Duns
33
41


Dunoon
61
66


Edinburgh
816
697


Elgin
274
179


Falkirk
750
924


Forfar
150
169


Fort William
151
123


Glasgow
2,304
2,619


Greenock
217
273


Haddington
59
67


Hamilton
682
877


Inverness
457
492


Jedburgh
188
182


Kirkcudbright
65
41


Kirkcaldy
601
542


Kilmarnock
731
880


Kirkwall
43
53


Lerwick
69
194


Linlithgow
284
332


Lanark
138
149


Lochmaddy
25
24


Oban
32
54


Paisley
569
468


Peebles
38
64


Portree
17
20


Perth
390
435


Peterhead
89
113


Rothesay
28
43


Selkirk
207
166


Stonehaven
60
60


Stranraer
80
127


Stirling
373
465


Stornoway
42
48


Tain
119
119


Wick
123
153


Total
14,626
16,538



  Information about the number of charges is not available for the period before April 2002 because of changes to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service’s database in financial year 2001-02.

  Information available before these changes relates only to the number of reports containing charges under section 52 of the Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995. The number of reports received in the financial years 1999 to 2002 were provided in answer S1W-29917 but are not directly comparable with the figures above because a report may contain more than one charge under section 52 of the Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995.

Justice

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when information on criminal proceedings relating to serious injury and careless driving offences which resulted in a fatality will be made available, including information on offences recorded by the police and on proceedings in court, showing the sentences imposed.

Cathy Jamieson: A separate charge code for offences of careless driving involving a road accident fatality was introduced in March 2002. This additional information will enable a fuller statistical picture on such offences which are proceeded against in court, such cases to be available in the statistics for 2003 onwards. Publication of the summary statistics on court proceedings concluded in 2003 is currently planned for March 2005.

  Criminal proceedings relating to road accidents causing serious but non-fatal injury cannot currently be separately identified in the statistics held centrally, though the feasibility of linking statistical records on road accidents involving serious injuries with those on any resulting criminal proceedings is being investigated.

Medical Students

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-12709 by Mr Andy Kerr on 15 December 2004, how many, and what percentage of, medical graduates left Scotland following completion of their pre-registration house officer post in each of the last three years.

Mr Andy Kerr: Table 1 gives details of pre-registration house officers (PRHO) employed in NHSScotland at the 30 September 2000, 2001 and 2002, and of these, the number subsequently employed as senior house officers (SHO) in NHSScotland one year later.

  Table 1: Transition from PRHO to SHO in NHS Scotland (2000-02)

  

 
PRHO at 30/09/00
PRHO at 30/09/01
PRHO at 30/09/02


Number of PRHOs in post
718
716
803


Of these, the number in SHO posts in Scotland one year later
436
454
501


Percentage in SHO posts in Scotland
61%
63%
62%



  Source: ISD Scotland.

  Notes:

  1. Sourced from ISD Scotland Medical and Dental Workforce Census.

  2. It is not possible to assume that those doctors who did not progress into a SHO post in Scotland all left the country as there may be other reasons (for example, a PRHO not attaining GMC registration within the year).

  We currently train more than our proportion of doctors in the UK, both at undergraduate and junior doctor level. At September 2003, Scotland had a higher ratio of Hospital and Community Health Service (CHS) Training Grades (which includes SHOs and SpRs) to population than both England and Wales, as contained in Table 2.

  Table 2: UK NHS Doctors per 100,000 Population

  

 
Scotland (Nos/100,000 population)
England (Nos/100,000 population)
Wales (Nos/100,000 population)


Hospital and CHS Training Grades
97
73
67



  Source: Securing Future Practice, June 2004.

  Note: 1. Data as for September 2003 (Wales 2002).

  The medical workforce is dynamic with particularly significant movements shortly after graduation and in the training grades, as considered within Securing Future Practice: Shaping the New Medical Workforce for Scotland.

  The recommendations from this review are being fed into national workforce planning arrangements.

Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003

Janis Hughes (Glasgow Rutherglen) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 will still come into force in April 2005.

Rhona Brankin: Progress towards implementation of the Act has been kept under review on the basis announced in my answer to parliamentary question S2O-4466 on 9 December 2004. Although it would be possible to continue to work to the original timetable, in my view the risk of slippage of key elements is now such as to make it prudent to announce a short delay to commencement. Making this decision now will give service users, carers, professionals and managers confidence that each of the elements necessary for successful implementation will be in place when the act comes into force and enable them to plan effectively for the new commencement date which will be in October of this year. The Mental Health (Care and Treatment)(Scotland) Act 2003 is world leading legislation and it is our intention that the quality of the implementation will match the vision set out in its drafting.

National Health Service

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what feedback it has received in relation to the operation of NHS 24 over the Christmas and New Year period.

Mr Andy Kerr: This holiday period was the first in which NHS 24 had been fully operational and provided the access point for Out of Hours services across Scotland. In the run up to the festive period – and with the full support of the Health Department - NHS 24 and the health boards agreed contingency plans to ensure that patients would continue to receive an effective response from the NHS during what was expected to be a very busy time.

  Between Christmas Day and the 4 January, the Health Department received daily status reports on the position of NHS 24 and the Out of Hours services it supported. At the end of the period a report on how the service had performed was submitted to the Health Department. The initial assessment was that the festive period had indeed been an extremely busy time with 89,700 calls being dealt with by NHS 24 between Christmas Day and 4 January. Whilst response times had lengthened due to the demand, NHS 24 and its partner organisations had coped. A further wash-up report is expected once NHS 24 and the health boards have identified the learning points coming out of the performance over the winter period.

National Health Service

Colin Fox (Lothians) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether a risk evaluation has been made of any threat to patients’ lives posed by the two-hour power failure on the night of 6 and 7 January 2005 at Edinburgh’s New Royal Infirmary.

Mr Andy Kerr: This is an operational matter and therefore primarily for NHS Lothian. I understand from the board that the public electricity supply to the hospital was interrupted for a few seconds around midnight on 6 to 7 January. This led to some parts of the hospital being without mains power for periods of up to 1 hour 50 minutes. I am told, however, that risk evaluation took place on an on-going basis during this time, and no patients were placed at risk.

  Standby power systems came into operation during the period. These systems ensured that most parts of the hospital continued to function normally. However, some aspects of the standby system did not function as expected. But the NHS board reports that there was no additional risk to patients, and in particular no threat to patients’ lives.

  Clearly there are lessons to be learned from what has happened. I expect that the board will consider carefully what further steps need to be taken with their contractors to reduce the impact of any future mains power interruption on the operation of the hospital.

National Health Service

Ms Wendy Alexander (Paisley North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the £20 million saving from improvements in prescribing practice, as referred to in Building a Better Scotland – Securing Efficiency Effectiveness and Productivity , will apply in 2005-06, if the appropriate plan is not developed until the summer of 2005.

Mr Andy Kerr: NHS Scotland is already working on measures to improve prescribing practice and Health Department officials will be working with the service to finalise in the new year a plan to focus effort to deliver the target efficiency improvement during 2005-06.

National Health Service

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what procedures will be used to implement its policy of returning patients who miss appointments to the end of the relevant waiting list and what safeguards will be put in place to avoid exclusion of disadvantaged groups of people and any inequalities in health care.

Mr Andy Kerr: I announced in Fair to All, Personal to Each , published on 15 December 2004, that a new system for recording NHS waiting times will be introduced by the end of 2007. The new approach will be fairer, more open to scrutiny, and more understandable than the present approach under which patients can be excluded from the Executive’s waiting times guarantee in certain circumstances. The new approach will also help to put patients at the centre of their care.

  A key aspect of the new approach will be to balance the responsibility of the NHS to provide care and treatment quickly with the responsibility of patients to accept and keep a reasonable offer of an out-patient consultation or hospital admission for treatment. Where an appointment has been agreed in advance and the patient does not turn up without giving prior warning, they will return to the start of the waiting queue, unless there are clinical or other compelling reasons for them to be treated more quickly.

  Technical definitions for and guidance on the use of the new waiting times recording system are being prepared and will be ready in advance of implementation at the end of 2007.

Planning

Rosie Kane (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to introduce planning regulations to reduce the effects of ambient noise in nurseries, schools, hospitals, care homes and hospices.

Johann Lamont: The Executive has no plans to introduce planning regulations in this regard. However, the planning system has a role to play in preventing and minimising the impact of noise through its influence over the location and design of new developments. Further guidance in this regard is contained in Development Department Circular 10/1999 (Bib. number 34898) and Planning Advice Note 56 (Bib. number 1153) published by the Executive and available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre.

  In addition, I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-12955, on 10 January 2005, concerning implementation of the EU Environmental Noise Directive. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/wa.search.

Poverty

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has calculated what share of economic growth would require to be redistributed to raise families currently living in deprived circumstances above the official poverty threshold.

Malcolm Chisholm: No. This is a complex issue and we do not think the calculation would be meaningful.

  Estimates on the full range of income thresholds and explanation of how these estimates are calculated are published in Households Below Average Income, 1994-95 – 2002-03, copies of which are available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 32212).

Public Defence Solicitors' Office

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive why the Public Defence Solicitors’ Office (PDSO) is allocated a fixed percentage of the custody court duty plan rather than applying as an individual agent as is the case with private firms; whether it is satisfied that this allocation does not constitute preferential treatment for the PDSO; whether any suggestion was made to private firms that the allocation would be reduced, and whether it now has any plans to reduce the allocation.

Hugh Henry: In 2000, following the removal of the general scheme of direction of legally-aided clients with birthdays in January and February to the Public Defence Solicitors’ Office (PDSO), the Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB) and the Edinburgh Bar Association (Summary) agreed that, from 2001 onwards, a fixed percentage of the Edinburgh Sheriff Court plan would be allocated to the PDSO. It was also agreed that SLAB would keep the size of the allocation under review. Since 2001, the percentage allocation has been:

  

2002
60%


2003
50%


2004
40%



  For 2005 and following discussion with representatives of the Edinburgh Bar Association the percentage share has been reduced to 28%. The board will review this further when it considers the 2006 plan. The PDSO also has a pro rata share of the sheriff solemn plan and the district court plan.

Public Holidays

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the bank holiday (a) days and (b) dates (i) were in 2004 and (ii) will be in 2005.

Hugh Henry: The information is as follows:

  

Holidays
2004
2005


New Year’s Day (or in lieu of)
Thurs
1 Jan
Tues
4 Jan


2 January (or in lieu of)
Fri
2 Jan
Mon
 3 Jan


Good Friday 
Fri
9 Apr
Fri
25 Mar


Early May Bank Holiday
Mon
3 May
Mon
 2 May


Spring Bank Holiday
Mon
31 May
Mon
30 May


Summer Bank Holiday
Mon
2 Aug
Mon
 1 Aug


Christmas Day (or in lieu of 25 Dec)
Tues
28 Dec
Mon
26 Dec


Boxing Day (or in lieu of 26 Dec)
Mon
27 Dec
Tues
27 Dec



  More information on bank holidays can be found on the Scottish Executive website at:

  http://sh45inta/library4/JD/CL/00018329.aspx?mode=view.

Public Holidays

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the legal status is of (a) local, (b) public and (c) bank holidays.

Hugh Henry: There is no statutory basis for local or public holidays.

  Scottish ministers are responsible for setting bank holidays in Scotland. The Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 provides the statutory basis for UK bank holidays. Schedule 1 prescribes Scottish bank holidays. Section 1(2) of the act provides for alternative days to be appointed as bank holidays by Royal Proclamation where a day specified in schedule 1 to the act is inexpedient in any particular year. Section 1(3) of the act provides that special days may be appointed as bank holidays by Royal Proclamation either throughout the United Kingdom or in any place or locality in the United Kingdom.

Public Transport

Mr Kenneth Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many quality contracts have been agreed with bus operators since the implementation of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2000.

Nicol Stephen: No quality contracts have been agreed with bus operators since the implementation of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2001. We are aware that several have been considered. There is also, evidence of a great deal of voluntary partnership working between transport authorities and bus operators as a result of the 2001 legislation.

Regeneration

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding Glasgow will directly receive following the introduction of the Community Regeneration Fund.

Johann Lamont: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:

  Glasgow Community Planning Partnership has been allocated Community Regeneration funding of £124,669,000 over three financial years beginning in 2005-06.

Renewable Energy

Shiona Baird (North East Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what the timescale is, and terms of reference are, for its assessment of the impact of the proposed wind farm on the Lewis Special Protected Area (SPA).

Allan Wilson: The consultation for this Electricity Act application, submitted in November 2004 is still underway and the final response is not expected until the end of June. At this stage it is not possible to say when a decision will be made, but the time to determination in respect of previous large wind farm applications suggests that it is unlikely that a decision will be made in the course of 2005.

  As the determining authority, ministers will undertake an "appropriate assessment" of the impact of this development on the Lewis Peatlands SPA in parallel with their consideration of the Electricity Act application and in accordance with guidance provided by the European Commission.

Renewable Energy

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to support the development of small-scale renewable energy projects in urban areas.

Mr Jim Wallace: We are supporting the development of a range of renewables technologies in homes and communities across Scotland through our Scottish Community and Household Renewables Initiative (SCHRI). The SCHRI, recently extended for a further three years with an additional £6.6 million in funding, provides advice and grants to communities and householders interested in developing renewable energy projects. So far, the SCHRI has supported 23 projects within the boundaries of Scotland’s major cities.

Roads

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what further sections of the A9 it plans to upgrade and whether other sections will be upgraded to dual carriageway status or to "two plus one" on a similar basis to those sections recently completed.

Nicol Stephen: We are continuing to develop our proposals to extend the dual carriageway at Crubenmore by around 2km at a cost of £5.4 million, and to provide 4km of additional overtaking opportunities between Kincraig and Dalraddy, by widening the carriageway to Wide Single 2+1 standard, at a cost of £4.3 million. I expect to publish draft orders for these schemes this year. A number of other improvements are planned and work has begun on a route improvement study between Perth and Blair Atholl, which will report in the autumn.

Rural Development

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will measure when it has met its Closing the Opportunity Gap target H to "by 2008, improve service delivery in rural areas so that agreed improvements to accessibility and quality are achieved for key services in remote and disadvantaged areas".

Ross Finnie: For target H, the Executive is working with an Advisory Group of representatives from key delivery agencies and rural communities to agree the rural areas to be targeted, to consult with local communities to identify the key services to be improved, and, later in 2005, to agree with the relevant community planning partnerships the specific targets for improvements to be achieved in terms of accessibility and quality. For each area and target, measurements will be made at baseline and in 2008 and changes from baseline calculated. Research will shortly be commissioned to establish local views on key services and how they might be improved and to collect data to measure baseline service provision. As target improvements for access and quality are agreed with community planning partnerships, further details of the measurement process will be made available on the Scottish Executive Closing the Opportunity Gap website:

  www.scotland.gov.uk/closingtheopportunitygap.

Scottish Natural Heritage

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish the report dated September 2004 by Turner and Townsend, project management consultants for Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), evaluating the four tenders received for the new SNH headquarters in Inverness.

Lewis Macdonald: This is an operational matter which is the responsibility of Scottish Natural Heritage.

Scottish Natural Heritage

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-12308 by Lewis Macdonald on 2 December 2004, why the period of 30 years is used in comparing the relative cost of lease and purchase of the new Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) headquarters to be built in Inverness when the required life span of the building is expected to be 75 years; what account is taken of the costs of leasing a building for the remainder of the period and whether a calculation of the net values using lease or outright purchase, using the Treasury guidance referred to, will be published; what consideration is given to the fact that, by outright purchase, SNH would be the owners of the building at the end of the lease period and, if such consideration has been given, what estimate has been made in respect of the value of the building as a fixed asset at that time.

Lewis Macdonald: The period of 30 years adopted for the appraisal is appropriate since it matches the rental period specified in the Invitation To Tender documentation issued to developers. This is consistent with the guidance on economic appraisals published by HM Treasury in the so called Green Book . The decision whether to rent or purchase the building will depend on an appraisal of costs and benefits which will include a residual value for the asset at the end of the 30 year period. This decision will not be taken until the end of the construction phase at which time details of the appraisal will be published.

Scottish Public Services Ombudsman

Mr John Swinney (North Tayside) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what recourse exists for a member of the public who is dissatisfied with the way in which a complaint is investigated by the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman.

Tavish Scott: The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman office has published guidance setting out what action a member of the public may take if they are dissatisfied with a decision made by the Ombudsman or with the quality of the service provided to them by the Ombudsman office.

  The guidance is available on the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman website at:

  http://www.scottishombudsman.org.uk/complaints_about_spso/.

Smoking

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether guidance has been issued to procurators fiscal regarding prosecutions for offences arising from smoking on public transport.

Colin Boyd QC: Detailed legal, policy and practice guidance is available to procurators fiscal, to be applied in decision making in relation to all cases submitted for consideration of prosecution. Offences arising from smoking on public transport are not the subject of any additional specific guidance.

Smoking

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how many prosecutions have taken place in the last year arising from reported incidents of smoking on public transport.

Colin Boyd QC: Between April 2003 and March 2004 17 people were reported to the Procurator Fiscal for smoking on public transport. Six were reported for a contravention of section 129(2)(c) of the Railways Act 1993 and 11 were reported for a contravention of Regulation 6(1)(d) of the Public Services Vehicles (Conduct of Drivers, Inspectors, Conductors and Passengers) Regulations 1990.

  A decision to take criminal proceedings in court was made in six of these cases,  one accused was offered and accepted a fiscal fine, two accused were given warnings, one was dealt with by the Reporter to the Children’s Panel and no proceedings were taken in seven of the cases.

Social Inclusion Partnerships

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish the evaluation reports of the social inclusion partnerships (SIPs) in Glasgow.

Malcolm Chisholm: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:

  Copies of the full evaluation reports, which were commissioned by the SIPs, are available from the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. numbers Big Step 34914, Drumchapel 34915, Glasgow Anti-racist Alliance 34916, Gorbals 34917, Greater Pollock 34918, North Glasgow Partnership evaluation of Milton SIP 34919, Penilee 34920, Toryglen 34921, Dumbarton Road Corridor 34922, A learning experience the routes out of prostitution 34923, North Glasgow Partnership evaluation of Springburn/East Balornock 34924, Greater Govan 34925).

Social Inclusion Partnerships

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total annual cost is of administering the social inclusion partnerships in Glasgow.

Johann Lamont: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:

  Up to 2.5% of the social inclusion partnership fund allocation in any year may be used to meet administration costs incurred by the grant recipient. In 2003-04, £660,944 was claimed for administering social inclusion partnerships in Glasgow by Glasgow City Council, the accountable body. Figures for the current financial year are not yet available.

Sport

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it plans to take to increase the number of artificial turf football pitches.

Patricia Ferguson: The Executive welcomes and is supportive of proposals which will deliver modern facilities capable of supporting an increase in sports participation. A number of artificial pitches are being developed through the New Opportunities for Physical Education and Sports (NOPES) Lottery programme and funding is also available to support their development through  sportscotland’s Building for Sport programme.

Sport

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what financial support will be provided for the Mountain Bike World Cup in Fort William in 2007, and from which sources, and whether there will be one person or group who will be taking charge of co-ordinating the public sector role in maximising the benefits of this event for Scotland and the local economy of Lochaber.

Patricia Ferguson: A number of partners have been identified as investors in the 2007 World Mountain Bike Championships to be staged in Fort William. EventScotland (£207,000), VisitScotland (£50,000)  sportscotland (£50,000), Highland Council (£50,000) and UK Sport (£250,000) have agreed, in principle and subject to completion of contracts, to invest in the event. EventScotland is currently taking a leading role in co-ordinating negotiations in relation to the staging of the event and maximising the benefits to the area and Scotland as a whole.

Sustainable Development

Shiona Baird (North East Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what part the Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning will play in ensuring that Scottish Enterprise delivers environmentally-sustainable development.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Executive provides strategic guidance to Scottish Enterprise through A Smart, Successful Scotland  (SSS). The refreshed strategy places sustainability at the heart of enterprise and competitiveness, and makes it clear that the Enterprise Networks must take account of the need for sustainable development in all their activities.

  The refreshed SSS makes an explicit link to the developing green jobs strategy. Our green jobs strategy takes sustainable development as its starting point. It will look at the business opportunities that this commitment to sustainability creates. It will also set out how we will encourage resource efficiency in business to the benefit of both the environment and productivity.

Sustainable Scotland

Shiona Baird (North East Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive when the next meeting of the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Sustainable Scotland will take place.

Ross Finnie: The next meeting of the Cabinet Sub Committee on Sustainable Scotland takes place on Tuesday, 1 February 2005.

Tourism

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its policy is in respect of the provision of financial support for the development and marketing of new visitor attractions.

Ms Patricia Ferguson: Unless required to do so by the Executive as part of our broader promotion of Scotland strategy, VisitScotland does not provide financial support for the development of visitor attractions. However, groups of businesses can apply for local marketing funding from the VisitScotland Challenge Fund, which is designed to complement the VisitScotland national marketing strategy, and to support groups of businesses in promoting high quality visitor experiences to identified consumer groups.

Tourism

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-12989 by Ms Patricia Ferguson on 24 December 2004, how it will ensure that the new tourism hubs have an adequate cash flow in the period between membership fees ending and the new funding arrangements taking effect.

Patricia Ferguson: Membership fees will end on 31 March 2005 with the winding up of the Area Tourist Boards, and the new funding arrangements which VisitScotland is discussing with the Executive will come into effect on 1 April. Part of these discussions is about the scale of the savings which are expected to result from achieving efficiencies from network integration. The position remains that, once these efficiencies are achieved during the course of 2005-06, the tourism network is expected to be sustainable.

Tourism

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make a ministerial statement regarding the future viability, without further public funding, of eTourism Limited.

Patricia Ferguson: Visitscotland.com continues to act as a highly-effective shop window for Scottish tourism. The joint venture continues to generate significant business for the tourism industry in Scotland, with over £23 million worth of business generated since its inception.

  Due to the nature of the joint venture, it was always anticipated that it would take a number of years for visitscotland.com to become profitable. However, as a shareholder in the company, VisitScotland has reported that it is currently performing well against business plan targets and is projected to achieve profitability in the next three to four years.

Tourism

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make a ministerial statement in respect of how many redundancies it expects there to be as a result of the restructuring of Area Tourist Boards and, if not, which positions will be made redundant and whether there will be compulsory redundancies.

Patricia Ferguson: VisitScotland recently issued a proposed organisational structure for the new tourism network to all Area Tourist Boards (ATB) and VisitScotland staff, which included an initial analysis of the current number of posts in the ATBs and VisitScotland (1,062), and a proposed number of posts for the new network (1,025). The difference, of around 35 to 40 posts, includes some posts which are already vacant. Most of the other reductions are expected to be achieved by means of voluntary severance.

Tourism

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any part of the funding spent on quality assurance schemes within VisitScotland would be more effectively deployed in marketing, in particular through increasing funding for Events Scotland.

Patricia Ferguson: High-quality in every aspect of Scottish tourism is vital to ensure that the expectations of our visitors are fulfilled during their visits to Scotland. That is why the Executive has given VisitScotland an additional £3 million over two years to work with the tourism and related sectors to widen and enhance the impact of its current voluntary Quality Assurance schemes.

  In 2004-05 EventScotland has a budget of £3 million and this will rise to £5 million in 2005-06 as it strives to secure a viable portfolio of events to attract visitors to Scotland. VisitScotland will use the many opportunities that arise from hosting major events to promote all that Scotland has to offer as a great place to visit throughout the year.

Traffic

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has sought legal advice on the judicial review sought by Midlothian, West Lothian and Fife council’s in respect of City of Edinburgh Council’s congestion charging scheme.

Nicol Stephen: We are aware of the on-going judicial review action but the Scottish Executive is not a party to that action. This is a matter for the local authorities and the court.

Training

Christine May (Central Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will help improve training and skills in the transport industry.

Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive is committed to supporting the developing employer-led network of Sector Skills Councils, which includes GoSkills, the Sector Skills Council for the passenger transport sector. The Executive also provides funding to the Scottish Union Learning Fund which supports projects run by transport unions, among others, to develop the skills of their members.

  In addition, the creation of the National Transport Agency as a centre of excellence should help to attract new skills to the Scottish transport industry.

Waste Management

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to review the legislation covering the burning of commercial and domestic waste by conventional power stations.

Ross Finnie: No. The main relevant legislation is the Waste Incineration (Scotland) Regulations 2003. These are consistent with the Waste Framework Directive (75/442/EEC) and the Waste Incineration Directive (2000/76/EC).

Waste Management

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to introduce legislation to reduce the amount of packaging used by manufacturers.

Ross Finnie: Legislation to encourage manufacturers to reduce packaging already exists. Under the Packaging (Essential Requirements) Regulations 2003, anyone may complain to their local authority trading standards officer if they believe a product uses excessive packaging. The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997 require businesses with a turnover of £2 million and making or using over 50 tonnes of packaging a year to recycle or recover certain proportions of packaging waste. This acts as an incentive on them to minimise their packaging use.

  In addition, we support the Innovation Fund, run by the Waste and Resources Action Programme, to help retailers minimise waste from packaging and products.

Wildlife

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-11675 by Tavish Scott on 8 November 2004, whether it has now reached a conclusion in respect of whether there will be a review of the Game (Scotland) Acts and, if so, what that conclusion is.

Tavish Scott: The Executive is still considering whether to conduct a review of the Game (Scotland) Acts.

Wildlife

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-11675 by Tavish Scott on 8 November 2004, whether it considers the Game (Scotland) Acts to be consistent with the EU Directive on the Conservation of Birds; whether the European Commission has expressed any view on this matter, and how this issue will be addressed in any review of the Game (Scotland) Acts.

Tavish Scott: The Game (Scotland) Acts all predate the obligations placed on Scottish ministers by Council Directive 79/409/EEC, but they are not inconsistent with those obligations.

  Scottish ministers have received no formal communication from the European Commission in relation to this matter.

  Any review of the Game Acts would take full account of obligations arising from international commitments and European legislation.